Machine for treating cottonseed hulls



Aug. 20, 1929. P. H. MINCK 71,725,013

MACHINE FOR TREATING COTTON SEED HULLS Filed June 27, 1928 /r7u en to Patented Aug. 20, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL HEBMANN MINCK, OF BERLIN-WILKERSDORF, GERMANY.

MACHINE FOR TREATING COTTONSEED HULLS.

Application filed June 27, 1928, Serial No. 288,751, and in Germany May 1, 1928.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for treating cottonseed hulls, and more particularly to machines for separating fibres from the hulls of decorticated cotton seeds.

The invention has for its object to provide a machine of the type wherein the separation of the fibre from the hull is effected by beater arms rapidly rotating within a drum into which the hulls are introduced, and from which the shells are removed downwardly and the separated fibre carried away upwardly from the drum entrained by an upwardly moving air current.

In machines of this type difiiculty has been experienced in increasing the speed-of the rotor beyond a certain limit, owing to the ineffective separation of the hulls and fibre, and further owing to depreciation in the quality of the fibre obtained. Exhaustive observation and experiment has indicated that the principal cause contributing to the failure of the machine to be operated at a speed calculated to increase the output has been due to the rising temperature within the drum due to the development of heat by friction incident to the increase in rotation of the heaters and mass of material within the drum, and such increased temperature causing a rapid heating of the incoming air caused expansion of the latter. The expansion of the incoming air naturally acts in opposition to the fan or other device utilized to create a draft for the removal of the fibre from the machine and materially impair the eifective operation of the latter at increased speed.

It is, therefore, one of the objects of the invention to provide means for cooling and maintaining the temperature of the drum within such limits as to insure against heating of the incoming air to a degree which would cause expansion and accordingly impair the free and rapid passage of air from the machine.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means for insuring the free and uninterrupted passage of the separated lint from the separating drum to the delivery pipe thereby avoiding tendency of the whirling mass of lint to become compressed in the restricted upper portion of the drum leading to the delivery pipe and the consequent retardation of the passage of the fibres.

A further object is the provision of means for accelerating the free movement and passage of the fibres which acts in one way by 4 direct contact with the upwardly moving mass of fibre to loosen and insure uninterrupted movement thereof and, in another way, to induce a current of air tendin to loosen the mass of fibre rising in the mac inc and compressed due to the action of centrifugal force.

A still further object of the invention is to so arrange and operate the beater arms that they act to positively cause a downward movement of the hulls or heavier part of the seed so as to accelerate separation of the fibre, as well as the delivery of the clean shells, to the bottom of the separating or defibrating drum.

In the accompanying drawing wherein an approved embodiment of the invention is illustrated, the figure is a diagrammatic vertical sectional view of a machine constructed in accordance with the invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, w indicates the beater mechanism which is located within the cylindrical drum cl. The beater mechanism includes the drive shaft p carrying the head or hub w to which the beater I arms I) are secured in any suitable manner, the arms being arranged along a helical line so that when the shaft p is rotated in the direction of the arrow the movement of the hulls descending through the drum by gravity is accelerated with the object of increasing the output of the machine.

I desire it to be understood that I do not restrict myself to any special shape or number of heaters nor to the manner in which these heaters are connected with the beater hub a. In fact any arrangement ma be adopted which is known or used in miIing machinery for serving a similar purpose, so long as' the beating arms or units are arranged in the helical line above defined and for the purpose stated. The beater arms may be, for example, few in number with broad beating surfaces or numerous with proportionately reduced surfaces. They may be straight or curved, solid or divided into bundles of blades and they may be connected with the hub either rigidly or hingedly, as

known in various arrangements in milling machinery to prevent breakage in case of obstruction, and the ends by means of which the beater arms are fastened to the hub may be advantageously threaded in order to distance the beater head from the mantel of the mill.

The drum d is provided with a bottom 9 having perforations 1 therein for the discharge of the defibrated shells. The upper part of the drum a? communicates with the up-take or outlet pipe .9 for the separated fibre which is carried upwardly therein entrained by the draft of air created by a fan (not shown) connected with the pipe 3 at a suitable point removed from the drum 0?.

As usual. the pipe 8 is considerably less in diameter than the interior of the drum (Z, and in order to provide a connection between these parts and still maintain effective ventilation of the drum the latter is provided with an outlet member 6 which in the embodiment herein illustrated is substantially dome shaped, the reduced opening in the upper extremity thereof communicating directly with the outlet pipe 8. The pipe .9 and out let member t is provided with a feed or supply passage u.

The upper terminal of the beater shaft carries and drives a fan n which is located in the upper restricted portion of the outlet member 25 in advance of the lower terminal of the outlet pipe 3, with regard to the direction of movement of the upwardly moving fibre. The dimensions of the blades of the fan n are such as to contact the mass of fibres moving upwardly along the inclined inner wall of the outlet member Z in a manner which will be hereinafter more fully stated, and by varying the adjustment of the blades of the fan its air impelling effect may be varied.

The body portion of the drum d is inclosed by a jacket 0 in which a cooling medium is adapted to be circulated to maintain the desired temperature within the drum.

The cooling medium is introduced through a valve pipe 6 and discharged at f.

The outlet member 25 is also provided with a jacket h for the circulation of the cooling medium whereby its interior is cooled and the cooling medium is'introduced through the valve connection 70 and discharged at Z.

The jackets 0 and it are provided with a thermometer g for registering the temperature of the cooling medium.

In the operation of a defibrating machine of the type herein described the heat, de-

veloped by friction during rotation of the beater mechanism at high speed, causes expansion of the air flowing into the drum and replacing that exhausted through the pipe 8, and such expansion of the air tends to strongly oppose the action of the main exhaust fan (not shown) the purpose of which is to maintain ventilation and circulation of air through the drum as well as the removal and delivery of the separated fibres. To offset this objectionable heating and expansion of the air with the above mentioned attendant disadvantages, the cooling medium circulating in the jackets c and. it produces a cooling effect for preventing rising of temperature within the drum beyond predetermined limits so as to avoid heating and expansion ofthe air to a point where it might seriously affect ventilation and by means of an adequate controlling device such as,

for instance, the control of the circulation of the cooling medium, the cooling effect may be varied. In this manner the free circulation of air and proper ventilation of the machine is assured regardless of the increased speed and the tendency toward development of excessive heat by friction.

The hulls moving downwardly in the upwardly through the drum cl, outlet member 25 and pipe 8 entrained by the air induced by the fan (not shown), but due to the rapidly whirling motion imparted to the mass of ascending fibre by the rotating beater, the fibre is thrown outwardly by centrifugal force, and in moving upwardly closely follows the inclined wall of the outlet member 25, and due to the inclination of such wall the mass of fibres is compressed to an increased degree as it approaches the outlet pipe 8. However, the rapidly rotating fan n located in the zone of the restricted end of the outlet member 6 by direct contact with the upwardly moving mass of fibre agitates and loosens the latter causing it to freely pass into the pipe 8. Aside from the agitation of the fibre resulting from actual contact therewith, the fan it induces the flow of air upwardly in the pipe 8 and the creation of this draft of air has a desirable tendency to further relieve the compression of the rising fibre mass and permit it to freely fiow upwardly through the pipe 8.

What I claim is: 1. In a defibrating machine, a drum, an

outlet pipe for fibre communicating with the outlet pipe for fibre, an outlet member for the drum communicating with the outlet pipe, a beater mechanism in the drum and cooling means associated with said. outlet member and said drum.

5. In a defibrating machine, a drum, an outlet pipe for fibre communicating with the drum, a beater mechanism in said drum, and cooling means associated with said drum, and fluid medium control means for the cooling means.

6. In a defibrating machine, a drum having a fibre outlet, a fibre outlet pipe communicating with the drum outlet, a rotary beater mechanism in the drum, and fibre impelling means located in the zone of the drum outlet.

7. In a defibrating machine, a drum having a fibre outlet, a fibre outlet pipe communieating with the drum outlet, a rotary beater mechanism in the drum, and fibre impelling means located in the zone of the drum outlet and driven by the beater mechanism.

8. In a defibrating machine, a drum having a fibre outlet, a fibre outlet pipe communicating with the drum outlet, a rotary beater mechanism in the drum, and fibre impelling means located in the zone of the drum outlet for direct agitating contact with the cotton fibre.

9. In a defibrating machine, a drum having a fibre outlet, a fibre outlet pipe communicating with the drum outlet, a rotary beater mechanism in the drum, and fibre impelling means located in the zone of the drum outlet and adapted to induce an air draft therein.

10. In a defibrating machine, a drum, an

outlet member communicating with the drum and a pipe communicating with the outlet member, said outlet member being substantially dome-shaped, a rotary beater mechanism in the drum, and fibre impelling means located in the outlet member intermediate the drum and pipe.

11. In a'defibrating machine, a drum, an outlet member communicating with the drum and a pipe communicating with the outlet member, said outlet member being substantially dome-shaped, a rotary beater mechanism in the drum, and fibre impelling means located in the outlet member intermediate the drum and pipe and driven by the beater mechanism.

12. In a defibrating machine, a drum, an outlet member communicating with the drum and a pipe communicating with the out-let member, said outlet member being substantially dome-shaped, a rotary beater mechanism in the drum, and fibre impelling means located in the outlet member for direct agitating contact with the cotton fibre.

13. In a defibrating machine, a drum, an outlet member communicating with the drum and a pipe communicating with the outlet member, said outlet member being substantially dome-shaped, a rotary beater mechanism in the drum, and fibre impelling means located in the outlet member for direct agitating contact with the cotton fibre, said impelling means including blades arranged to induce air draft.

14. In a defibrating machine, a drum having an inlet for material to be defibrated, a rotary beater mechanism in the drum including beater arms arranged to cause downward motion of the material fed into the drum.

15. In a defibrating machine, a drum, a rotary beater mechanism mounted in said drum and including beater arms arranged along a helical line and adapted incident to rotation of the beater mechanism to accelerate the downward movement of material falling through the drum.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

PAUL HERMANN MINCK. 

